Hat dusting appliance



y 1939- w. OLLINGER 2,158,143

HAT DUSTING APPL IANCE Filed Aug. 31, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l W\| L |AMOLLINGER F1 INVENTOR.

BY M hm/ ATTORNEY.

May 16, 1939.

HAT DUSTING APPLIANCE Filed Aug. 31, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WILLIAMOLLINGER INVENTOR. BY W MM/ ATTORNEY.

Patented May 16, 1939 UN I TED "STATE-S HAT DUSTING APPLIANCE WilliamOllinger, Long Island, N. Y. Application August '31 1938, Serial No.227,721

4 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved hat dusting appliance employed forremoving extraneous material from hat bodies during the process ofmanufacture of hats.

An object of this invention is the production of a hat dusting appliancewhich will provide a duplex dust removing action operable simultaneouslyupon the outer and inner surfaces of the hat body and which will be mosteffective in de-dusting operations and which may be easily manipulatedby .the operator.

Another object of this invention is to provide a hat dusting appliancehaving a crown mounted on a shaft above a tubular .suction member andhaving a fan rotor on the lower end of the shaft and rotatable in thetubular member, whereby the suction causes rotation of the fan rotor.the crown and hat body thereon.

Another object of this invention is to provide braking means forcontrolling the said rotation, the said braking means being operable bya foot treadle.

Another object of this invention is to provide an upwardly extendingenclosure ,circumscribing the lower portion of the crown forconcentrating the air suction around the crown downward into the tubularsuction member.

Another object of this invention is to provide .angularly disposedbaffle plates all around the front opening of the booth, the said platesconverging .towards the center of the funnel-shaped member and servingto prevent the dust from backing out of the booth.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention will behereinafter more particularly described, and the combination andarrangement of parts will be shown in the accompanying drawlugs andpointed out in the claims which form part of this specification.

Reference will now be had to the drawings, wherein like numerals ofreference designate ,corresponding parts throughout the several views,in which:

Figure l is a front elevation, partly in section, of the improved hatdusting appliance.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view, the section being taken .as on line2-2 in Figure 1.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the numeral l indicatesa hat dusting appliance comprising a booth H for box-like form mountedon legs I2 which bring the bottom Wall [3 of the booth on a levelsuitable for hat dusting operations. r

The bottom wall l3 has a large aperture M in which has been secured afunnel-shaped memher [5 having a tubular extension [6 positioned belowthe bottom wall. A frame ll preferably made from metal bars 18 has beenmounted in the funnel-shaped member [5. The bars I8 have angularly bentouter ends H! which fit the tapering walls of the funnel-shaped memberand'provide a positive support for the frame l1.

Bearings 20, 20 preferably of the ball bearing type have been secured inaxial alinement to the upper and lower sides of the frame l1. Thebearings 20, 26 are positioned centrally of the funnel-shaped member i5and provide a mounting for a vertical shaft 2| which extends downwardlyinto the tubular member It. A fan rotor 23 has been fastened to thelower end portion of the shaft 21 and is operatively positioned forrotation in said tubular member 22. A grooved disk 25 has been securedto the upper end of the shaft .2 I.

A spoked disk 26 has been fastened to the uppermost end of the shaft 2|for horizontal rotation with said shaft.

A crown 21 preferably formed of aluminum has been mounted on the spokeddisk 26 in coaxial relation therewith. The crown 2! is hollow andsubstantially dome-shaped and is perforated all over with a series ofapertures 28. A downwardly directed flange 29, preferably formed ofaluminum, has been removably mounted on the lower edge of the crown 21.The flange '29 is perforated all over by a series of apertures 30. Theflange 29 is adapted to receive and support thebrim of a hat body. Theflange 29 may be either ,fixed to the crown or adjustable relative tothe crown and made to conform to hats of various styles.

A suction blower or air exhauster (not shown) has its suction connectedto the tubular extens'ion or suction member E6. The down draft suctionthrough the fan blades causes rotation of the fan rotor 23, the crown 27and the hat body placed on the crown.

A brake lever 3| has been mounted on a-pivot 32 carried by a bracket 33.The bracket 33 may be secured to the upper bearing 20 or held'in anyother manner fixed to the frame H. A compressionspring 34 positionedintermediate the lever 3| and the bracket 33 serves to urge a taperingbrake member 35 into pressure engagement with the grooved disk-2 5 andacts as a braking means for controlling the rotation .of the fan .rotorand the crown and hat body. A foot trea-dle 36 is suitably connected bymeans of a rod 31 with the lever 3| so as to normally hold the rear endof the treadle in a raised position. The op- .erator presses on the foottreadle to release the brake so that the hat body will be revolved dueto the pneumatic force. Release of the foot ,treadle arrests the motionof the brake.

.A wire mesh screen 38 has been mounted on the frame ll. The screenprevents hat bodies from being drawn into the suction fan.

The booth H has baiile plates 39 which are angularly disposed all aroundthe front opening 40 of the booth. The baflle plates converge towardsthe center of the funnel-shaped memher l and act as a dust reversingmeans which causes the dust thrown off from the hat bodies to stayinside the booth and prevents the dust from striking the operator in theface.

A circular enclosure 4| circumscribes the lower portion of the crown 21.The enclosure is of the same diameter as the upper diameter of thefunnel-shaped member l5 and serves for concentrating the air suctionaround the crown.

An air nozzle 42 controlled by a lever 43 carries a hose 44 which isconnected to a high pressure air supply (not shown).

In operation, the suction fan is started and the hat body is placed onthe crown 2?. The suction holds the hat body firmly on the crown. Theoperator presses on the foottreadle. The down draft suction through thefan blades causes rotation of the fan rotor, the crown and the hat body.

The operator manipulates the lever on the high pressure air nozzle andpoints the nozzle to the hat body. This externally applied jet of airpasses through the hat body. The interior suction sucks down theparticles loosened by the external blast.

The effect of the duplex dust removing action is that it takes less thanone minute to clean a hat. The hat may be turned inside out and thecleaning operation repeated on the interior surface of the hat.

The speed of the rotating shaft and hat body is controlled by the foottreadle which leaves both hands of the operator free for the dustingoperations.

The importance of the booth structure herein disclosed is that it servesas a health and sanitary factor for the operator, eliminating thebreathing by the operator of the die dust loosened from the hat body.The booth concentrates the dusting operation in a confined area.

,The importance of the down draft suction inside the hat body is that itholds the hat body down on the crown, while without the suction insidethe hat, the operator is compelled to hold the hat body on the crownwith one hand while operating the compressed air nozzle with the otherhand.

If an electric motor were used, the continual stopping of the motorwould become a hindrance to successful operation besides being a firehazard, due to sparks caused by the starting and stopping of the motor,the dust being inflammable. The use of an electric motor wouldnecessitate the complication of belts, speed reduction equipment,and'complicated switch devices, such as switches of the mercury type,while the structure shown is of extreme simplicity. The down draftsuction simplifies the structure for causing rotation of the crown andhat body. V I claim: 7

1. A hat dusting appliance comprising a booth having an apertured bottomwall, a funnel mounted in said bottom wall and having atubular suctionmember. extending downwardly therefrom, a frame mounted in said funneland having upper and lower bearings for supporting a shaft and fan rotorcentrally of said tubular member, a hollow perforated crown and brimrotatably mounted at the upper end of said shaft and being adapted forsupporting a hat body thereon, a pulley mounted on said shaftintermediate said crown and said upper bearing, said tubular suctionmember permitting suflicient suction to cause rotation of said fan rotorand said crown, braking means contacting said pulley, foot pedaloperated means for releasing said braking means and permitting rotationof said crown, and means for applying a jet of compressed air againstsaid crown, whereby said externally applied jet of compressed air coactssimultaneously with said internally applied air suction for removingdust from opposite sides of said hat body.

2. A hat dusting appliance comprising a booth having an apertured bottomwall, a funnel mounted in said bottom wall and having a tubular suctionmember extending downwardly therefrom, a frame mounted in said funneland having bearings for supporting a shaft and fan rotor centrally ofsaid tubular member, a hollow perforated crown and brim mounted at theupper end of said shaft and being adapted for supporting a hat bodythereon, a disk mounted on said shaft intermediate said crown and saidbearing, said tubular suction member permitting sufficient suction tocause rotation of said fan rotor and said crown, braking meanscontacting said disk, foot treadle operated means for releasing saidbraking means and permitting rotation of said crown, and means forapplying a jet of compressed air against the outer surface of saidcrown, whereby said externally applied jet of compressed air coactssimultaneously with said internally applied air suction for removingdust from opposite sides of said hat body.

3. A hat dusting appliance comprising a booth having an apertured bottomwall,a funnel-shaped member in said bottom wall and having a tubularsuction member extending therefrom, a frame mounted in saidfunnel-shaped member and having bearings for supporting a shaft and fanrotor centrally of said tubular member, a hollow perforated crown andbrim mounted at the upper end of said shaft and being adapted forsupporting a hat body thereon, a disk mounted on said shaft, saidtubular suction member permitting sufficient suction to cause rotationof said fan rotor and said crown, braking means contacting said disk,means for releasing said braking means and permitting rotation of saidfan rotor and crown, and means for applying ajet of compressed airagainst the outer surfaceof said compressed air coacts with saidinternally applied air suction for removing dust from opposite sides ofsaid hat body simultaneously.

4. A hat dusting appliance comprising a booth having an apertured bottomwall, a housing member in said aperture and having a tubular suctionmember extending therefrom, a frame mounted in said housing member andhaving bearings for supporting a shaft and fan rotor centrally of saidtubular member, a hollow perforated crown .and brim mounted at the upperend of said shaft and being adapted for supporting a hat body thereon, adisk mounted on said shaft, said tubular suction member permittingsufficient suction to cause rotation of said crown, whereby. saidexternally applied jet of

